MLB Baseball: Friday, April 18, 2014 at 2:20 pm (Wrigley Field)

Alfredo Simon (R) (1-1) (1.200) vs. Jeff Samardzija (R) (0-1) (1.286)

TV: FS-Ohio, WGN

The Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds face off on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field in game one of their NL Central series.

The Chicago Cubs are having a rebuilding year and thus far their results are reflecting that, as it has been a struggle. The Cubs are 2-4 at home this season, 3-7 in their last 10 games, and they have lost four games in a row. As a team the Cubs are hitting .230 with Emilio Bonifacio .339, Anthony Rizzo hitting .333, and Starlin Castro hitting .298. The Chicago pitching staff has an ERA of 4.01 with the starters at 3.98 and the bullpen at 4.05. For game one against the Reds the Cubs start Jeff Samardzjia who has pitched well but doesn’t have any positive results to show for it. For the season Samardzjia as allowed 17 hits and three runs while striking out 15 over 21 innings for a 0-1 record and a 1.29 ERA.

The Cincinnati Reds battled atop the NL Central for most of last season but this season it has been a struggle to stay out of the basement. The Reds are 2-4 on the road, 5-5 in their last 10 games, and they have won their last two games. As a team the Reds are hitting .248 with Joey Votto hitting .327, Brandon Phillips hitting .306, and Ryan Ludwick is hitting .262. The Cincinnati pitching staff has an ERA of 3.50 with the starters at 2.94 and the bullpen at 5.18. For game one against the Cubs the Reds start Alfredo Simon who is making his third start of the year. For the season Simon has allowed nine hits and two runs while striking out 10 over 15 innings for a 1-1 record and a 1.20 ERA.

Chicago is 18-42 in their last 60 games, 11-29 in their last 40 home games, and 2-8 in Samardzjia’s last 10 starts. Cincinnati is 2-5 in their last seven road games, 6-15 in their last 21 games, and 0-6 in game one of a series. Cincinnati is 25-8 in their last 3 games in Chicago.

While it is tough to ever take the Cubs, this would be one of those rare occasions.

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